As games that can be played on terminals such as smartphones, games involving applications of technology for coordinating a virtual space (game space) inside a terminal with the real world outside the terminal are becoming common. As an example of such technology, there is a technology in which an image of a space in the real world is captured by using a built-in camera of a terminal and in which the captured image is utilized in a virtual space. As another example, there is a technology in which an object (e.g., a figure) in the real world is associated with an object in a virtual world by using short-distance communication, such as NFC (registered trademark) or iBeacon (registered trademark).
With these existing technologies, it is necessary for a reader device on the terminal side to support a non-standard technology, such as NFC (registered trademark) or iBeacon (registered trademark), or there is a risk of invading the privacy of third parties that are included when an image of the surroundings of a player is captured by using a built-in camera.
Accordingly, as a technology for coordinating a virtual space inside a terminal with the real world outside the terminal, there is a demand for establishing a technology that uses a standard device commonly provided on most terminals (desirably all terminals) and that involves only low risk of privacy invasion. Here, an example of such a standard device is a touchscreen (e.g., see Patent Literature 1), which is provided on almost all smartphones. Thus, the above demand will be satisfied by establishing a technology that enables seamless coordination between a virtual space displayed on a touchscreen and a medium such as a physical card in a state where the medium is placed on the touchscreen.
Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2006-185338